Tag Archives: Superbowl

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Millennial Central for Mrs. T’s Pierogies. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Today’s post is just in time for that little football game scheduled for Sunday. You know the one I’m talking about, right? The SUPERBOWL! It’s in my home state (New Jersey, not to be confused by all of the advertisements that reference New York, which ironically is the state I was born & grew up in, at least the first few years), and while I’m not a huge football fan, I am a big food fan, and the Superbowl is the perfect excuse to indulge in some of my favorites. One thing I hadn’t thought about including in my Superbowl spread until recently, though, is pierogies!

Sweet Potato Pierogis? Yes please.

When I was given the opportunity to try out Mrs. T Pierogies, I jumped at the offer. I absolutely love pierogies and have enjoyed Mrs. T’s for years as a convenient and easy addition to weeknight meals. My favorite way to prepare them has been with some sauteed onion and cabbage, but before I was a vegetarian I also loved them alongside some kielbasa! I’m yet to meet a combination I don’t like, though the classic potato and onion is my favorite. They’re really quick and easy to make; you can bake, boil, or pan-fry them which gives you a lot of different options. I try to keep some in my freezer just in case I can’t come up with a weeknight meal idea, a recipe doesn’t work out, or I just don’t feel like cooking. I’m even in the process of trying to come up with a pierogi bake of sorts for a later post. But back to Superbowl snacks…

In addition to making (veggie) chorizo & caramelized onion cheesy dip, Irish nachos, and buffalo cauliflower, I’m also planning on baking some Mrs. T Pierogies that will basically act as stuffed chips – perfect for dipping into the chorizo dip, guacamole, mustard, or just eaten on their own. I know they’ll be a great addition to a wine and cheese night I’m planning later in the month with a bunch of my girlfriends, too… everyone needs foods with sustenance when they’re sampling wines, and these will be perfect. Who knew that pierogies could be so versatile?!

Feel free to check out Mrs. T’s Website, Facebook, or Twitter for more information and to see all the different kinds of pierogies they offer!

Tell me…Are you a pierogi fan? What’s your favorite combination?

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Friday marked the first day of using my brand spakin’ new Believe I Am training journal. I ordered the journal at the beginning of January and have been anxiously awaiting the beginning of February to start officially using it. Even though Fridays are rest days, I couldn’t wait to start using it and scribble in my first race results in the book – the Super Sunday 5k.

Welp, guess my main goal is out there now…

I really had no plan going into this 5k, with it being only 2 weeks after the Disney marathon. I knew that getting my legs to move fast would be tricky, especially after waking up to see snow on the ground. So I picked a pace that I thought would be doable but not easy (7:30 average), and figured if I felt better then I’d go for it, but if not, I would at least be happy with my finish time. Of course I have big plans for all my racing distances in 2013, but knew Sunday wasn’t going to be the day to PR.

It was COLD on Sunday morning. The race started at 11am and we arrived around 10am, so we spent a solid 30 minutes in the car with the heat on trying to stay warm after picking up our bibs and t-shirts. The shirts were interesting… I was offered either the women’s medium which was described as “kind of small, with kind of short long sleeves” or the men’s medium that was “kind of big, like a nightgown.” Why they didn’t have a men’s small or a larger women’s shirt I have no idea, but I decided on the nightgown look. I actually wound up putting the shirt on underneath my singlet; I seriously underestimated the cold and would not have been comfortable with what I had on. By the time the race started my toes were a little numb, and my exposed ankles and neck were stinging. But once we started I was immediately distracted by the faucet also known as my nose (you’re welcome).

The race was small (only 259 finishers), and wound through Somerville streets. It only snowed about an inch or so over night so the roads were mostly okay, but there was some slush that made me nervous. I was able to navigate around it because the roads were wide and empty, but there were definitely a few steps where I had zero traction. There were lots of turns, and I’m happy to report I ran the tangets well. I also managed not to floor it my first mile (like I’ve been known to do) and kept my pace very consistent. Since it was a smaller race, I knew there was a chance I’d be able to place at least in my age group, and maybe even overall. I’ve placed at a few races before, but they’ve always been on the smaller side… which I’ll take! The only women I had seen on the course I passed, but I knew there were a few that must have taken off and were just out of my view. I eyed up a small and speedy looking girl at the start, and my prediction was right – she went on to win the entire race! But other than that, I really wasn’t sure where I’d come in.

As it turns out, I finished in 23:16, right at that 7:30 average I wanted to maintain, and 20 seconds off of my current 5k PR. Being the race was so small, that ranked me as the 4th female overall, and 1st in my age group! The prize was a sweet pint glass, that I conveniently got to use while watching the Superbowl!

Look at all those layers!

Next up on my racing schedule is a 5k Road Relay at the end of the month. In teams of 2 you each run a 5k (broken in two) to total a 10k, passing a baton and everything. I’m really looking forward to it! I’m ready to ramp up my mileage and add in some speed work to get ready for the Spring’s half marathons I have on deck. And of course, to use my shiny new Believe I Am journal!

I’m still here, I promise! I’ve been slowly taking over my cooperating teacher’s schedule, so I’ve been getting more and more work (yay!). My time in the kitchen has mostly been spent recreating favorites and making quick meals. However, there have been a few noteworthy dishes I’ve devoured recently.

On Sunday, I sent my husband off to a Superbowl party with some Buffalo Chicken Dip, a true football party classic. He surprisingly brought some home, so on Tuesday I decided to use the leftovers to make grilled sandwiches. It was super easy, and really delicious – it tasted like it was a million calories, but I promise it wasn’t! All you need to do is make this buffalo chicken dip (second recipe listed), put about 3 tablespoons on your favorite bread, and grill away. Yum.

The next night, I made veggie burgers, but not just any veggie burger. A few weeks ago, Megan over at Running Foodie posted a recipe for eggplant burgers. As luck would have it, eggplants and burgers are two of my favorite things, and combining them was right up my alley. So, I bookmarked the recipe and finally made them. My husband isn’t a big eggplant fan, but he was pleasantly surprised when he found out the ingredients. The recipe makes 8 burgers, so I was able to enjoy some for lunch throughout the week. Double win. Unfortunately I was so excited to eat it all I didn’t snap a picture, but you should absolutely make them.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge burrito fan, so I decided to add that to our menu for the week. This wasn’t just any burrito, though, it was a grilled burrito, which is something I need to do more often. It was such an easy way to upgrade the burrito to a whole new level. If you can muster up waiting a few extra minutes before devouring your burrito, all you need to do is spray a pan with some non-stick cooking spray and heat it for about 2-3 minutes on each side. So good.

To round out my week of yum, I received some goodies I ordered from Pure Bliss Eats, and it’s been a struggle not to eat everything right away! I ordered the Chocolate Chip Dough Balls and some Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola. Almost all of the dough balls are gone already, and there is only a bit of the granola left, too. They are both SO good and since it’s healthy, I have no problem indulging frequently. If you’re in the market for some delicious healthy treats I would highly recommend checking out Pure Bliss Eats, especially because it’s a fellow foodie fitness blogger’s brainchild!

There’s plenty of yum on this week’s menu, and also lots of running. I signed up for the Chicago Marathon in October, so base training for that has begun! This round both the husband and I are planning to incorporate weight training into our plan as well, and we actually spent an extra hour at the gym today doing some leg work. I’m looking forward to making that a more regular occurrence, because I really believe cross training can help someone like me who’s so injury prone. Bring it on, running.